Jason Gagovski (Sweet Cobra-drums)
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2015? (In order 1-5)
It's always a challenge for me to put these in order, but here are 5 of the albums I listened to frequently this year:
- Wand - Golem
- Fuzz - II
- Cloakroom - Further Out
- Meat Wave - Delusion Moon
- Obliterations - Poison Everything
Honorable mentions:
- Failure - The Heart is a Monster
- Disappears - Irreal
- Thee Oh Sees - Mutilator Defeated At Last
- Tame Impala - Currents
2. What band did you discover in 2015 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
The first thing that comes to mind is hearing the Baby Huey song "Hard Times" from The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend album recorded in 1969. We were all hanging out having some drinks one night, and a friend of ours put on that song and the room turned into a dance party. There is so much energy in that tune, and it also sounded familiar to me (it's been sampled a bunch of times). We just kept replaying it and going crazy. It's so heavy. The next day I looked into finding the album and more about Baby Huey (James Ramey), and it turns out he was from Indiana and relocated to Chicago where he tracked only that one album, but passed away before its release. The album has been in heavy rotation since that night– there's just an urgency, rawness, and energy to the music that is what attracted me to punk rock and hardcore music in there somewhere. The whole album is great. I also feel a geographical connection to it being from Indiana and Chicagoland myself. The AV Club / Permanent Records recently did a feature on him if you're interested.
3. How will you remember 2015? (In terms of music)
For us as a band, it was a huge accomplishment to finally get our Earth album out. Emotionally it was a heavy thing for us, and it's been great to have it out there for people to hear–working with the folks at Magic Bullet has been great as well. Hitting the road with Mutoid Man was also really special, as well as playing shows with Cloakroom. I feel like there is a lot of amazing music happening right now. There were lots of great albums that came out this year and it was really hard to choose only a few to list in my top 5 or 10. If people complain that there's no good new music out there, they aren't looking hard enough.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2016?
We have a few releases in the works:
Young Widows / Sweet Cobra "Live at 3 Floyds" Split LP
Recorded by Aaron McAllister and mixed by Kurt Ballou. This will be out in the early part of 2016 on Hawthorne Street.
We are recording in January at Electronical (a studio run by Allen and Eric from The Life and Times) for a split 7" with Milemarker, and we are also planning a split 12" with Cloakroom. We'll also continue to hit the road.
Remis has a solo project called Ditches that will have a album coming out with 8AM this year.
I am also working on an album with my friend Sarah Olmsted. We already have a few songs recorded and will finish the album this upcoming year at Electronical as well.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2016?
I'm looking forward to the new Sumac album that Kurt Ballou recorded at The Unknown, a studio that was formerly a church built in the early 1900s on an island north of Seattle, WA. It looks like a really great place to make an album. We were fortunate enough to share a bill with Sumac this past summer and it was a treat to see them live.
The debut LP from Louisville's Jaye Jayle (which is band spearheaded by Evan Patterson from Young Widows with other members from Old Baby and Shipping News). We'll be releasing that on Hawthorne Street Records and they'll be touring a lot in 2016. Last year we released one of their vinyl singles that was part of a series. We are really excited to be a part of their journey.
6. How relevant is the physical format record/cd/tape in 2015 and going into 2016? What do you see changing in terms of physical vs. digital discussions?
For me the physical format remains relevant, I am a record collector and have been since I was a kid. I cherish the tangibility of a music release. I'm sure part of that comes from being a graphic designer as well, and enjoying print and packaging. I think there are always going to be people that enjoy that format, even with the convenience of digital music. I am by no means a purist, but if I enjoy an album, I buy the vinyl. I bought a few tapes this year too.
